Lawyer for Gardner vet explains cat euthanasia mix-up

Tuesday

Sep 25, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The lawyer for a veterinarian who mistakenly euthanized a cat brought in for a flea bath said there was a mix-up, but the cat's owner signed paperwork indicating he wanted the cat put to sleep and Dr. Muhammad Malik explained that to him.

Michael Sheridan said Dr. Malik's office received a call from a man wanting to have his cat euthanized around the same time Colleen A. Conlon called to confirm flea bath appointments for Lady and Little Bit, her two cats.

“But she didn't bring the cat in, her son did,” Mr. Sheridan said, adding that clinic staff assumed he was the man who had just called about euthanizing when he arrived with one cat. Ms. Conlon said her son took the cats in one at a time because they had just one carrier.

While Mr. Sheridan said that mistake may be understandable, things should have been cleared up quickly when Ms. Conlon's son, Jesse Conlon, 24, was taken to a room and handed the forms, which have the word “euthanasia” in at least two places. He was also asked a routine series of questions that most veterinarians run though before injecting an animal with a life-ending solution, Mr. Sheridan explained.

“Dr. Malik asked whether the cat had bitten anyone, because it would have had to be quarantined, and he asked about post-mortem care,” Mr. Sheridan said.

When Mr. Conlon arrived back a short time later with Little Bit in the carrier and learned that Lady had been euthanized, he was stunned. He told his mother the paperwork seemed routine, like something any new client would fill out, and since the cats hadn't been to this veterinarian before, he didn't question it.

Mr. Sheridan said he doesn't believe Dr. Malik can be held liable, but all the same, the doctor is devastated by what happened.

It's unclear why Mr. Conlon didn't understand that Lady was to be put down, though Mr. Sheridan wondered if his youth and the term euthanasia instead of something more descriptive and easily understood may have factored in. He said he's sure the highly publicized incident has other veterinarians reading the forms they use and going over their practices to avoid ever having a similar situation.

The experience has been painful for everyone involved, he said. The Conlons lost a beloved pet that once belonged to Ms. Conlon's late daughter, who gave her the cat a year before she was killed in a car accident.

And Dr. Malik, who is also quite upset, has had to call police because he's receiving death threats, including one from a person who said he would slit the doctor's throat, Mr. Sheridan said.

“That's not the answer,” Mr. Sheridan said, adding that Lady's story should be a cautionary tale for all to read what they're signing and to ask questions, and for veterinarians to be sure their clients understand completely what will be done to their animals.